The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1887-11-25

EIsolnled out Il pale woman IN good but not
snowy clothing, Who was yet more wretched
than the poorest at the feast. Her husband
cared nothing for her She was dying of n
broken heart Just opposite her were man
and woman whom no recital seemed to
affect Their only child had been suddenly
killed few weeks before.
My friend pointed out man at the bottom
of the table. He had On uneasy eye and
restless conscience. asked what this man
had DONE .s..
Set traps for the feet of Others" said my
host. TN old times, legends say, men sold
their own souls He has sold those of others
Anciently, to trample on the Cross was the
worst sacrilege man could commit; but
be has trampled beneath his feet the very
image Of God Such as he are called men
sabolt town need not tell you morep
Near him sat o woman with faded shawl,
q soiled and rakish bonnet, brazen face and
dirty hands No teaching, no help. no good
example, no chance of good had ever come to
her. And there was woman in a Partisan
dinner dress who sat between two men of the
homeless kind in upper ife-tho lay figures
of society. She was more hopeless looking
than her neighbors She had no work No
object save pleasure ever stirred her.
Then my host told me in low tones, while
the others were talking among themselves,
how he had gathered these people together
for this extraordinary Thanksgiving feast.
Some he had met by accident. Others he
hunted up, going into dismal places to find
them. The most despairing were the ones he
chose. He said: r.4. se- s.7
ITO some / sent formal invitations by post.
knew it would please them. The invitation
itself, put in language they had not known
for years, would be more of blessing than
the nero feast to which they were hidden.
The moral pleasure given, or the self respect
induced by these Invitations, is more than
half the boon of my Thanksgiving feast To
few the nero food is much, but then to
those far sunk in the mud, animal comfort
must precede q moral impression. When
people arc comfortable they like to listen to
good talk, and when you have laid the
foundation in corporeal works of mercy you
may safely begin the superstructure of the
spiritual. Indeed, the physical parts of their
trials are really the least, and the ply.
sical reward of a good feast also COM
paratively small. Some of them dine well
every day of their lives, and yet have no
pleasure in it or anything else. They who do
not find more pleasure in the comfort, the
security, the absence of anxiety tonight
than in the mere abundance Of food Those
who are poor do not mind hard work and
scanty fare but they do mind the uncer-
tainty of their lives, the lack of home, the
want of appreciation of themselves, the want
of sympathy and understanding, the cold
drawing back of the prosperous, the divided
attention, the fair words and no deeds, the
barren good wishes-in short, the whole
repellcnt attitude of the world
''Do you see," he said, ''that old man at
the foot of the table? He has peace enough
to bathe us all in it, patience enough and joy
enough to share with us all. He does not
know how to read, but he knows the thing
that st. Paul counted higher knowledge
than all his Hebrew learning and Greek
subtlety. He had great misfortune in his
youth-no matter what it was-and if ever
there was child of God, fashioned by Gods
own hands and chastened in his own way, it
is he"
Here the host stepped forward, and raising
his voice said: "There is one among you, my
friends, who has no word to speak of his
troubles and disaDpointments yet they have
been harder to bear than all yours, save those
miseZies born of guilt did not invite him
here because he was unfortunate, but because
l needed something you could all join in
being thankful for. He has that treasure;
he has the secret which would turn all your
misery into joy. Instead of showing you
only full board, have brought you the
most beautiful thing on earth to see and to
imitate-for it is in the power of each of you
to initiate him-a happy man.
"He is old, poor, silent, and as the world
would add, ignorant, sad and lonely. But
listen to what be once told me: There Is one
who breathes, moves, converses constantly
with me- feel him, hear him, sometimes
/ even answer him in my heart. But it is a
speech without words, which we understand
without having been at school, and read
without having learned to read in books
That is one of the pillars that uphold the
world for hinl-his trust in God The other
is his trust in conscience. If you can initiate
that the first will come as its natural eonse-
quence. To live by the rule of my friend
needs two things-grace and a real resolve.
The first is never wanting. You can count
ON it whenever and as long as you make up
your mind to furnish the other thing, fixed
resolve" s...=s
This and much more said our host, and
when he ceased we noticed there was one
guest less at the table. He had gone; but no
one spoke
Then, here and there one from out this
strange company came forward to thank the
host with tears of genuine gratitude in their
eyes, Some went away without word.
Soon all were gone. The loaded table disap-
peared, but heard my host say with Joyous
decision: ''That is what we propose to do
next year, 1t was only thenI realized thatI
had not assisted at veritable banquet We
had talked ourselves into the belief that our
longings and imaginings were facts. Could
we not do something like thisa To restore
self respect is even better than to fill with
bread. But, understand, that although in
many instances the latter can be done with
out the former, in most cases the former
must rest on the basis of the latter. Thanks.
giving is a good day to begin things. Still /
every day may become thanksgiving for
those who seek out the hungry, both in body
and in spirit, to feed and the naked to clothe.
B. M